Not Bored Yet
by illyriazshell
Summary: In the future, Claire gets a surprise on the Fourth of July. Drabble Challenge for lj comm, sylaire chall. Prompt #17 - Fireworks


**A/N: Drabble challenge submission for sylaire_chall, a live journal community. Prompt #17 - Fireworks.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, don't sue. **

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"Can we _please_ go home, Ms. Bennet? We're bored. It's getting late. Look, it's even dark outside, and it's summer."

Claire looked around her classroom; the thing about High School was that students got older and moved on with their lives, but teachers, however, were a constant; watching others change as they remained static. Since Claire understood this predicament better than anyone, she'd spent the last 5 years as a high school science teacher. Not nearly as difficult as previous occupations, nor as interesting, but she had all the time in the world to switch professions when she felt like it. She currently tackled a night-time summer school class.

"No. This _boring stuff_ is going to be on the midterm."

"It's the Fourth of July! We all want to be home for family dinner."

Claire laughed. No-one else knew why, and she wasn't about to launch into a "back-in-my-day" speech when every one of her students looked older than her. But, back in her day, today meant barbeques and fireworks. Not "dinners." However, "her day" was over 70 years ago, and fireworks had long since been banned from public use; they had been classified as "possible weapons of terror". She'd sadly watched Fourth of July celebrations fade out of American culture and have it instead become a pseudo-Thanksgiving type, minus statutory holiday status. She still fondly remembered this holiday being spent with her family. It saddened her a bit to think she was likely the only person in this room who had ever seen fireworks.

Suddenly, an ear shattering explosion echoed from just outside the classroom window. She moved towards the noise; things that went boom had never really been an issue for her. The whole class, however, panicked, some of them jumping under their desks and covering their heads.

She was overwhelmed with joy and nostalgia when she saw the colours that lit up the sky. She turned to the huddled masses.

"Brilliant, guys. That'll be just as effective as it would have been back in the 1950's. Get up. Look." They did. She smiled. "We're going to take a brief break from bio and go on a history field trip. Tell me how bored you are then."

Slowly, the student's fear subsided as they realized what was actually happening. They filed out of the portable and stared up at the shimmering sky. She watched as people gathered on the grass. Some sat, most stood, but all were too fascinated with the dazzling of the fireworks to shudder at the thunderous sounds that echoed throughout the night. The "ooh's" and "ahhh's" were much more pronounced than she ever remembered.

"Are those..."

"Fireworks? I think so. I saw them in a movie once."

"Aren't they illegal?"

"Who cares?! They're beautiful!"

"I wonder who's setting them off."

"They must be in the church parking lot over there; past the trees."

Claire snapped a bit out of her contentment to let those words sink in. Few people could get access to them anymore, and her instincts from that decade working in the FBI kicked in. She quietly inched her ways towards the trees.

She came out on the other side, not sure what she expected to find. But she realized that wasn't true as soon as the source revealed itself; she _had_ half-expected this.

"Happy Fourth of July, Claire," called out a tall, familiar figure sprawled across the church steps.

"Hello, Sylar," she replied. Not as coolly as she liked, but as nonchalantly as she could manage since pleasant visions of her youth had been flooding her thoughts the past few minutes. "Feeling especially patriotic today?"

"Interestingly enough, the previous owner of this nifty ability was not much of a patriot, so I did my civic duty and I'm sure America is grateful that I've acquired it instead." He chuckled, she snorted.

"But, no. The light show is all for you." His fisted his hand, which began to glow, and as he opened it, sparkles emanated from his palm. He flicked his hand skyward, and more fireworks exploded across the black. "I thought tonight would be appropriate for it."

"Pretty," she stated, "another stolen ability for your already vast collection." Though, she grudgingly admitted to herself, his inconsistent yet frequent visits over the years had demonstrated that his arsenal of powers could be useful in tight situations.

"Come on now, Claire," Sylar smiled as he stood, making a quick shooting motion with his hand and sending more sparks into the sky. "You stopped caring about all that decades ago."

She moved towards him, until her face was inches from his stomach, and her gaze blankly caught his. Years ago, she'd be disgusted, even afraid, to even be in the vicinity of her monster, but she had long since let that go.

Instead, as his fist began to form yet another sparkling mass, she took both her hands and gripped his tightly, forcing them into his stomach. She smirked, he grinned, and instead of igniting in the sky, the pyrotechnic display occurred between the two of them, sending their mangled bodies flying back in opposite directions. As both their upper limbs reformed, he lay there, laughing.

"Oh, Claire! I see we're still years away from you coming around to loving me, but I thought by now you'd at least be bored with trying to kill me."

Her cells re-stitched themselves, and her hands finished grew back. She laughed back at him, crossing her new arms as she stared down at him, "It hasn't been quite 'a hundred years or so' since your first proposal. Come back and ask me then if I'm bored yet."

"Believe me, I will."

She turned away from him and headed back towards the field where her students were likely standing, wondering where the fireworks had gone. She stopped. Quietly, over her shoulder, she whispered; "Thanks. For the fireworks. For memories of my family they brought back, I mean."

She disappeared into the trees.

He smirked; "You're welcome."


End file.
